Virtuoso

Part maverick, part genius, total virtuoso, David Garrett, 25, has been surprising people since before he was four years old. It was then that his father gave him a violin (he was having a tantrum because his older brother had a violin teacher) and, without any lessons, the toddler picked it up and began playing. Fast forward just four years and David was already one of the foremost violinists in the world working with the most celebrated teachers and performing solos with legendary orchestras and conductors. With his natural talent, the input of the finest music teachers in the world and a spirit unusual in the sometimes fusty world of classical music, David has emerged as fully-formed, fully-rounded - not to mention highly attractive - artist. He has already played for Popes and princes and presidents (the German President saw David when he was just 11 and was so impressed he actually set about securing him a priceless 1718 Stradivarius: "I used to leave violins on buses and in hotel rooms when I was younger, but not this one") but a whole new audience awaits.